Black
by AnabelleBlack20
Summary: Respect. Control. Power. They had it all. And more. It was common knowledge that the Black family was not to be trifled with. They were the epitome of power and wealth. What was it about the Blacks which placed them on a whole new level and made them far superior than the rest of the Wizarding World? Why does the entire world bow at their feet? Rated T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

_The Devil whispered in my ear: You are not strong enough to withstand the storm._

 _I whispered in the Devil's ear: Darling, I am the storm._

* * *

Respect.

Control.

Power.

 _They_ had it all. And more.

Unlike what most muggles believe, the world isn't divided into good and bad.

There's good and bad and then there's BLACK.

The Wizarding World was a community. A large one with numerous subdivisions, but a community nonetheless. Like any other race, no matter what century, there was always discord and hostility amongst the different factions.

It is human nature after all.

One of the oldest known feuds was between Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff versus Salazar Slytherin.

Light versus Dark.

But no matter what, all people, light and dark alike, strongly agreed on one topic.

Do _not_ cross the Blacks.

That was the one rule that was staunchly followed by every person. No exceptions. No negotiations. Stay out of their path and you will survive.

If not...

The Black family was Absolute Power. Everybody knew that. They weren't just a family, they were an empire.

Cold grey eyes, cunning smirk, aristocratic carriage, a dominating personality and a razor sharp Slytherin mind. These were the basic traits of a member of the Black family.

They were the masters of manipulation, seduction and any form of deception. The Ministry of Magic was little more than a front, a facade.

Someone else wielded the real power. Their word was law. If they command, you obey. No matter what.

A person's identity or status didn't even come into the picture. You could be a simple salesman at Flourish and Blotts or a decorated member of the Department of Magic Law Enforcement.

No one questioned them or got in their way. No one so much as dared to look them in the eye. After all, no sane man or woman would want to incur the infamous wrath of the Black Family.

While the Dark Lord was indeed well versed in the dark arts, the Black family were the pioneers of Dark magic. There was not a spell that they hadn't mastered. More than three fourths of the Dark magic that exists today is a courtesy of the Blacks.

Each generation was more formidable than the last.

Take the current members for example:

Orion Black, the patriarch of the family. He was a merciless bastard. And that's putting it nicely. He spared no one, not even his own sons. He was a firm believer in the principle: strike first, strike hard.

A man so sinister that the Dark Lord himself was wary of him. While he was Voldemort's right hand man, there were few who believed that Voldemort considered him an equal. He was a Death Eater and proud of it. But, no Auror would dare to so much as lay a hand on him.

Walburga Black, his wife, was an equally terrifying entity, if not worse. Unlike her husband, she wasn't open about her deception. Her methods were far more... clandestine. A command whispered in the right ear and her job was done. These tactics were later deployed by her niece, Narcissa Black.

Cygnus and Druella Black could be considered the milder sort. But, one must not be fooled by the fact that they choose to operate outside the limelight. While his grandeur wasn't as great as his brother's, Cygnus and his wife operated behind the scenes.

Proud and prejudiced, they maintained extremely high standards for acquaintances. Probably the most prejudiced couple in the family. They trampled muggles and mudbloods the way a boot squashed an ant. In fact, Lady Druella went as far as disowning her own daughter, Andromeda! The reason? Andromeda Black fell in love with a muggleborn!

Utter sacrilege!

She couldn't have her daughter tarnish the reputation and principles of their family, could she? What's the solution? Blast your child of off the family tree. That's the obvious solution, isn't it?

Next up on our list is Bellatrix Lestrange, née Black, the oldest daughter of Cygnus and Druella. Like her parents, only far more extreme, she took great pleasure in torturing innocents. Sadistic, cruel, malicious, Bella was easily one of the most terrifying Blacks of all time. Particularly skilled in the Cruciatus curse, she used it quite frequently and indiscriminately.

She was Orion's favorite niece and his protégé. Why? Common interests of course! Now, she served the Dark Lord and had poured her heart and soul into it.

Andromeda Tonks, née Black, her younger sister, was very different from the rest of her family. While a Slytherin, she married a muggleborn and was disowned. Her response? She didn't give a fuck. She must have embraced the light side completely, right?

Wrong.

Few were aware about her prowess in the Dark Arts and her unrivalled skill as a Potioneer. Just because she didn't use it, doesn't mean that she was ignorant. Cross her and she will strike you down.

Narcissa Malfoy, née Black was different from both her sisters. She had of course, inherited her family's hatred for all things and persons remotely Muggle. Proud and calculating, she was just like her mother. While she didn't kill or torture, she was far from innocent.

One look into her stormy grey eyes and a man was ensnared. She was beautiful and she wasn't afraid to use it to her advantage. Her husband, Lucius Malfoy, was wrapped around her little finger, a slave to all her wishes.

Regulus Black, younger son of Orion and Walburga Black was the youngest Black. He lived his life on one rule and only one. His older brother had taught him this when they were very young: excellence isn't encouraged, it's expected.

That's the one major rule that you have to follow if you want to survive in the Black family. There was absolutely no room for mediocrity amongst the Blacks.

Regulus was proud and condescending, but he didn't follow the draconic laws of his family to that degree. If not liking, he was tolerant towards Muggles and Muggleborns. Academically, he was far superior than all his classmates and his seniors as well.

Which is why he had a hard time making friends. He had few friends but a good deal of lackeys. The people around him were intimidated by him. Whether it was because of his pride or his expertise inside and outside the classroom, it didn't matter.

But, despite his flaws, Regulus was against Voldemort. At least that's what he wanted. Orion and Walburga had different plans for their son. Question was, would he succumb to their wishes?

Saving the best for the last: Sirius Black

The older son of Orion and Walburga, Sirius was a class apart, a whole new level. What made him so different from the rest?

From a very young age, he had opposed his family's ideals and principles. He didn't believe in the family motto: _Tonjours Pur._

He was the first Black (and that's over a millennium) to be sorted into Gryffindor. That alone resulted in him being labelled as the outcast of the Black family.

Unlike his family, he was kindhearted, brave, chivalrous, forgiving, even mischievous. He held nothing against muggles and openly struck friendships with them.

Grey eyes, tall and muscular and sexy as hell, he could easily pass for a Greek God. Unlike his brother, Sirius was immensely popular. Girls wanted to be with him and boys wanted to be him.

With his charming Gryffindor personality and the way he so naturally blended in with the rest of the lions, one could almost forget that Sirius was a Black.

And that's exactly what made him the most powerful and dangerous of them all.

Kind, intelligent... blah blah blah. Sure, he had a heart of gold. But that heart was coupled with a will of pure titanium.

A dangerous combination indeed.

He was a master of Leglimency, Occlumency, Spell casting, Elemental magic and even Wandless magic. His own family wasn't aware of these talents. They hated him and he loathed them, apart from his little brother and Andromeda.

Question is, how exactly did he come to possess these extraordinary powers at so young an age?

What was his story?

No one knew.

Several people had underestimated him and paid the price.

Heavily.

Some were still paying their dues.

People assumed that just because he was a Gryffindor at heart, he wanted nothing to do with the Dark Arts.

Nothing was further from the truth. Born and raised in the world's darkest family, Sirius had exposure to the vast resources of the Black Library.

His temper was something everybody—even his family— feared.

His knowledge of the Dark Magic could rival, even surpass that of Lord Voldemort's itself.

Everyone knew that he was a carefree Gryffindor who loved his friends, brother and his motorcycle. But at the same time, they knew better than to trifle with him. One should not make the blunder of mistaking Sirius' kindness for weakness.

He had a lot of friends but only a handful of them were truly close to him. Needless to say, he was fiercely and almost ruthlessly protective of his boys.

If you were foolish enough to hurt any of them, Merlin himself couldn't protect you from his catastrophic fury.

Why?

Because the darkness inside him was dormant, not dead.

For example, during Fourth year, four Sixth year Slytherin boys ambushed one James Potter after their house had lost a Quidditch game.

Two hours later, Sirius had found his best mate in the third floor bathroom, bleeding profusely with numerous cuts, blows and welts on his arms, face and legs and even a couple of broken bones.

The next day, said four boys were found unconscious in their respective beds with the exact same wounds on identical parts of their body. They had absolutely no memory of how they'd come to possess these injuries.

Another such example was the case of Ana Cassidy. For a Ravenclaw, she'd turned out to be pathetically stupid. Vile and rude, she had wasted no opportunity to pick on fellow Fifth year, Remus Lupin. She'd repeatedly and publicly humiliated him for the scars that covered his face and hands, going as far as to call him an ugly swine.

The bullying had gone too far and took its toll on said boy who already had self esteem issues.

One morning, little Miss Cassidy had woken up to find her beautiful, flawless face completely covered with large, painful boils. No amount of Madam Pomfrey's treatment and expertise could cure her. At least not for the next three months.

The last straw that finally cut all ties between him and his family was when he joined the Aurors. As an Auror, he was unstoppable. Armed with knowledge and the requisite skill, he completed his training in record time and established himself in the field.

Death Eaters cowered at the mere sound of his name. He tore them apart without a shred of mercy. It is rumoured that Voldemort himself was fearful of this man who had so effortlessly destroyed his followers.

Sirius was the brightest star but also the greatest darkness of the Blacks.

If there ever were Wizarding royalty, the Black family was it. Twisted, tormenting and downright terrifying. Brutal, lethal, unyielding, cruel, silver tongued and viciously merciless, they were willing to do whatever it took to stay on top of the food chain or—in Sirius' case—to protect their own.

In the end, you will submit.

One way or another.

* * *

 **I've done it! I have finally done it. I've always wanted to write about the Black family. It's one topic that Rowling didn't elaborate upon and for some reason, I find the family very alluring: power wrapped in a package of beauty and mystery.**

 **More than the rest of the family, it is Sirius' dark side that I'd love to work on. Some fics portray him as this reckless drunk who has no purpose.**

 **Fav, follow and review this fanfic if you all agree that Sirius Black deserves a whole lot better.**


	2. Chapter 2

_As lost as Alice,_

 _As mad as the Hatter._

* * *

 **23rd May, 1978**

"Mr. Potter? Potter? James?" The bespectacled boy snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the woman's voice.

"I'm sorry?"

Professor McGonagall raised a disapproving eyebrow at him, probably for his short attention span or the fact that he was late to class, third time this week.

"Just take your seat, Potter."

With a sheepish grin, James made his way over and sat down next to his friends, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew.

"Right, as I was saying, with the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test only a month away, you..."

James tuned out the rest of her speech, his mind occupied with far more worrying and pressing matters. Every couple of minutes or so, Remus would nudge him to pay attention, but it was in vain.

Seventh year was supposed to be awesome, the best year of his life. But it had turned out to be full of shite.

And horribly boring. Even somewhat lonely.

The only upside of Seventh year was that he'd been chosen as Head Boy.

His duties as Head Boy had taken up most of his time and he wasn't complaining. They had helped keep him occupied and the one major advantage was he got to spend a lot of time with his beautiful girlfriend, Lily Evans.

Class dispersed after a while and James was thankful.

"They're doing their best, you know. The Aurors," Remus said as the three of them walked to the Gryffindor Common room.

"Yeah and they seem to be doing one hell of a job, agreed?" His words were thick with sarcasm. It was a touchy subject for James and so, Remus didn't push the topic any further.

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend. Do you have any plans with Lily or are y—"

"Nope. She, Alice and Marlene are willing to tag along with us. We can stop by at the Three Broomsticks."

"You want to go to Zonko's?" Peter asked.

"Not really."

The rest of the day passed just like any other. Lessons continued with every professor rambling on about the importance of NEWT. Lunch and dinner in the Great Hall revealed the decreasing strength at the Slytherin table. There were hardly a handful of Seventh year students present.

Most of them had probably run off to join Voldemort. James' enemy, Severus Snape, more often referred to as Snivellus, had also disappeared two months ago.

That night, James lay in his bed, fully awake.

Everyone told him that the Aurors were trying their best or that he shouldn't bother about it so much. Bunch of idiots they were. It was the fact that they spoke in the past tense while referring to _him_ was what pissed James off more than anything else.

He had tried to focus on lessons, to throw himself into his duties and Quidditch. Anything to keep his mind from wandering.

He turned to his side and shifted to a more comfortable position.

 _Day 278, Potter. And counting._

278 days since Seventh Year had begun.

278 days since he'd played a single prank.

278 days since his best friend and brother, Sirius Black had disappeared without a trace.

* * *

The knife went right into the man's jugular, eliminating any sound other than a short gasp before his miserable life ended.

The woman lowered his body to the ground without a sound. She pulled the knife out, wiped it against the dead man's jacket and sheathed it back into the holster that was strapped to her thigh.

"Nicely done, Cissa."

From the shadows, another woman appeared. Tall and beautiful with luscious brown hair, hazel eyes and soft features, her appearance starkly contrasted her younger sister's platinum blonde hair, cold grey eyes and sharp profile.

"Thank you, sister. This way."

The two women were dressed completely in black and blended into the dark hallway almost perfectly.

They crept along the corridor, on the alert for anymore guards. But, they'd got past most of them.

For a Muggle facility, it was very secure, especially in this wing. After all, the person being held there was no ordinary wizard either.

They slipped past two more pairs of guards who were positioned on either side of the passageway.

The brown haired woman—Andromeda—reached into her robes and pulled out a small vial, no longer than her middle finger. It was the fourth one she had used that night. She opened it and the gas escaped into the corridor, instantly rendering the muggles unconscious.

It was a harmless vaporised version of the sleeping potion. A neat little invention of hers.

That was the end of those pesky security personnel.

They arrived at the end of the corridor which contained double doors made of steel. One more set of doors and they would arrive at their destination.

The guards were all knocked out and three of the nastier ones were dead.

" _Bombarda_!" Andromeda hissed and the steel doors exploded with a bang. With another wave of her wand, the pieces of the exploded metal vanished, leaving no trace. The only thing that remained was the huge doorway.

The guards; who were all out like a light, didn't budge.

When they reached the next set of double doors, an audible shuffling of footsteps could be heard. Judging by the sound, it was one person.

Probably the bloke in charge.

Andromeda blasted open the doors once again.

It was a simple room, sparsely furnished.

But both ladies immediately focused on the man who was cowering in the far corner. He was of average height, stout and bald with frog like eyes. He was dressed in a muggle suit with the shirt buttons straining against his large belly.

"Ple—"

Narcissa whipped out her wand and sliced it through the air in his general direction.

The bloke crumpled to the floor and cords wrapped themselves around his wrists and ankles.

"We'll need him for later."

Andromeda then turned her attention to the figure on the bed.

His shoulder length black hair had grown longer in the course of the past few months and the excessive facial hair begged for a shave. But, other than that, he looked exactly the same.

They had found him.

Sirius Black.

The entire Wizarding World had been searching for him for almost a year and here he was, trapped in some remote hospital in a small muggle town.

A needle had been inserted into his left arm which was connected by a thin pipe to a weird contraption that contained a transparent liquid.

"What the hell is this?" Narcissa asked, glaring at the device accusingly. She was almost completely alien to any muggle item.

"It's a muggle instrument. It's called an infusion pump and that's the infusion machine. This liquid is flowing through his system."

Andromeda unhooked him from the pump and held it up for inspection. She took a whiff and hummed, like her suspicions had been confirmed.

"Drought of Living Death, Cissa. I'll take this with me for examination. Now let's get out of this hell hole."

"I couldn't agree more. What about our cousin?"

"He'll wake in a few hours. Let's get back to the cottage. We'll take this man as well. If anyone can explain things to us, he's our best hope."

Narcissa levitated their hostage so that he was floating next to her.

Andromeda took out a small brooch from her pocket and placed it on the bed. She tapped it with her wand twice to activate it. A portkey.

Narcissa grabbed the fat man's collar with her left hand, and wrinkled her nose, apparently disgusted by him. Andromeda wrapped her fingers around Sirius' wrist and touched the brooch. Narcissa followed suit and the four people vanished into thin air.

"Are you sure this place is safe?" Narcissa asked when they reappeared inside a cottage.

"It is. This house belonged to Ted's parents and they left it to him when they died. The neighbours are all asleep and I've established wards around the place."

Narcissa nodded curtly. They levitated Sirius into one of the guest bedrooms and dumped the man from the hospital on a sofa.

Andromeda came back out. "I suggest we rest a while. Sirius will take another six to seven hours to wake up. Get some sleep, Cissa."

* * *

"This is just the beginning. You understand that, don't you?"

Narcissa frowned. "Of course I understand that, Andromeda." She did understand, better than anyone else. By doing what she had done last night, she'd betrayed everything her mother had drilled into her head.

"If Mother finds out, Cissa —"

"She won't. The guards were all either knocked out or dead. No one spotted us."

Narcissa buried her face in her hands. "This is my fault. I should have come to you sooner."

"You're not entirely to blame, but yes, you should have."

She bloody well should have. Things wouldn't have gotten this bad if she had acted sooner.

"But better late than never, Narcissa."

"Sirius' going to be furious, isn't he? When he finds out what his father has done."

"Of course he will. He should be waking any minute now. I'll go and check on him. His vitals are stable so that's a god sign. You coming?"

Narcissa shook her head, suddenly interested in the empty coffee mug on the centre table. They'd never liked each other and she couldn't face him. Not with the guilt that was weighing her down. She had mustered all her courage and swallowed her pride to approach her sister itself.

Andromeda wouldn't say it out loud but Narcissa knew that last month's events would never have occurred if Sirius had been around. And that was on her.

"I don't think he'll be too pleased to see me. You go ahead."

Andromeda went into the room where Sirius was still asleep.

She waved her wand over him and received the same statistics as before. Heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, body temperature: all normal.

Physically, he was perfectly fine. It was his mental state which was a concern. Andromeda had no idea about how he would have changed. But what she did know for certain was when he found out what had happened last month, he was going to be livid.

All those responsible would not escape his fearsome ire. She personally hoped he destroyed every one of them.

Ten minutes later, he began to stir.

"Sirius?"

His eyes opened slowly, adjusting to the light. The ceiling was unfamiliar. It wasn't his place, nor was it James'.

The last thing Sirius remembered was walking to his motorcycle which he'd parked in the lane next to James' house.

Then, everything had gone black.

A face came into view. "Andi?" Why did he sound so hoarse, like he hadn't spoken in ages?

What was she doing here? And more importantly, where the hell was he?

He pushed himself up and that's when he saw his clothes.

 _What the hell?_

Last he recalled, he had been wearing faded jeans, a white shirt and a black leather jacket. Not this light blue shirt and matching baggy trousers, the kind worn by patients in a muggle hospital.

"Andi, what the fuck's going on? Why am I wearing this and— my hair!"

His hair always ended right above the shoulder. It most certainly didn't extend to his elbow. He reached up to rub his face and—

"What the—" He'd shaved only three days ago. He shouldn't have a freaking beard!

"If this is James' idea of a prank because I wouldn't let him use my motorcycle for his date, then I swear, I'm going to string him up by his—"

"Sirius, James had nothing to do with this. Why don't you get cleaned up? We have a lot to talk about."

There was no trace of humour or lightheartedness in Andromeda's words or on her face. That was unusual since she was always warm and carefree.

"What's going on, Andromeda?" He asked again. If his voice came out sharper than intended, he didn't care. Something was wrong here.

"I'll explain everything, Sirius, I promise. You've been asleep for... a while. Just please trust me and I will tell you everything."

Andromeda was stubborn and Sirius knew that she wouldn't budge once her mind was made up. Besides, he could certainly use a good shower, a haircut and a shave.

Oh and some fresh clothes. He definitely needed a new set.

"Fine. But after that, we're talking."

She nodded and left the room.

Sirius got out of bed and went inside the attached bathroom which was well equipped. He ditched that dull uniform and stepped into the shower.

The hot water was truly a blessing. He scrubbed himself clean. Once he was done, he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist.

Then, he proceeded to shave that damn beard off and also trimmed his hair until it was back to its normal length.

He felt loads better.

A set of clothes had been laid out for him on the bed and he put them on.

When he went outside, he found Andromeda sitting at the table, eating breakfast along with Narcissa.

Why was she here?

"Narcissa." He nodded curtly in greeting. They'd never liked each other. He remembered playing with her and Andi when he'd been about four or five, but after that: zilch.

She nodded back and he saw an expression that he'd never seen on her ever before: guilt.

"So, something's come up, hasn't it? I get that. I mean, Andi, I can understand. But if you're here as well, Cissa, things must've gotten out of hand. What's up? Dear Aunt Druella troubling you?"

It wouldn't be the first time.

"Maybe you should sit down first."

What could have possibly happened? He dropped all attempts at lightness and sat down. "What's this really about? If something is majorly wrong, tell me now. Seventh Year begins in two days and I want to resolve whatever it is before I leave for Hogwarts."

Andromeda bit her lip. "That's just it, Sirius. It isn't 1977 anymore. It's the twenty-fourth of May, 1978."

"You've been comatose for nine months."

* * *

 **Boom!**

 **So what exactly happened to our favourite Marauder and who's responsible?**

 **Why is Narcissa guilty?**

 **Wait for the next chapter and until then, don't forget to follow, favourite and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

_And I was in the darkness,_

 _So the darkness I became._

* * *

"W-What?"

Sirius wasn't sure if he had heard correctly.

 _Nine months? Comatose?_

That couldn't be right. Only last night, he had been at James' house. His mother, Dorea had truly surpassed herself for the previous night's dinner. There had been a small celebration at James' since he'd been appointed as Head Boy.

"No, that can't be right, Andi. This is a bloody joke, isn't it?"

"It's not a joke, dear cousin. You have been comatose for a while now," said Narcissa and Sirius was surprised to note the lack of distaste in her tone that was normally reserved for him.

He took a long, good look at both his cousins. There was no trace of humour, a smile or even a slight quirk of their mouths. Both of them appeared equally solemn.

 _Were they actually serious?_

 _Had he really been sleeping for so long?_

Someone had done this to him.

Where the fuck had he been for the past so many months? He had missed nine precious months of his life! What about his friends? James and Reggie? Remus and Peter? Lily? Frank and Alice? Marlene? Had something happened to them too?

"James and the others? Are they—"

"They're fine, Sirius. All of them are at Hogwarts." He ignored the slight quiver in Narcissa's voice.

 _Who could do this to him?_

But, even as he asked himself this question, the answer came to him. There were only two people who wanted to put him down more than anyone else.

His parents.

"Fuck!" The anger in his voice was evident as he stood harshly, almost knocking the chair down.

They had locked him away. Tried to put him down and restrain him like an animal.

How _dare_ they?

How long had they planned to keep him like that? Sedated and locked up, away from the rest of the world?

Why? All because he wouldn't succumb to their wishes and serve a deranged, power-hungry arsehole?

They didn't have the balls to get their own hands dirty and so they had obviously hired someone to do all the grunt work.

He wanted to break something, do _anything_ to get his frustration out.

Those bloody—

"—rius! Sirius, Calm down."

A crashing sound ripped him out of his growing fury.

He looked up and around him. The windows were rattling, the chairs and tables were vibrating, creating an unpleasant grating sound, the cutlery had shattered and one chair was overturned and missing a leg.

He forced himself to calm down, to clear his mind before he destroyed anything. Rage was a very powerful emotional, capable of catastrophic chaos. This wasn't accidental magic. This was his magical core outraged by everything that had happened.

Wandless magic wasn't meant to be toyed with.

Slowly, the house returned to its silent state once again.

Andromeda and Narcissa were both staring at him with different expressions. Andi's was one of worry and concern while Narcissa appeared worried as well as taken aback.

Yeah well, she didn't know the half of it.

"Sit down and we'll explain the rest of it. You can't do anything if you're seething, love," Andromeda's voice was reasonable and levelheaded. She had a point.

"Where was I?"

"Langdale. It's this remote Muggle town, about a hundred miles from Hogsmeade. Small town, only one hospital. You were held in a ward that had been shut off from the public."

"It was impossible for the Aurors to find you. Not that they tried very hard." Andromeda mumbled the last sentence but Sirius heard her anyway. He wasn't even surprised. Why would the Aurors waste their time looking for him? The son of the infamous Orion and Walburga Black.

So that's where he'd been. Lying in some Muggle hospital while Merlin knew what happened in the Wizarding World.

"So how did you two find me?"

Was it his imagination or did Narcissa just wince?

"It wasn't... It wasn't um.. hard, since we—I, already knew where you were being held. So it was easy for me to destroy the wards around the place."

Sirius arched one perfect dark eyebrow at his blonde cousin. "So let me get this straight: you knew exactly where I was, all along and you conveniently let me rot in my predicament. You know what? That doesn't surprise me, not one bit."

"I didn't know exactly where you were, Sirius. I mean, I knew that Orion had you locked away somewhere. I did some digging last month and I found out."

"Why the sudden change in heart, Cissa? You hate me, always have. You were willing to leave me to my fate all these months, right?"

The two sisters exchanged glances. "Sirius, I don't hate you. And things are... different now. W—"

"When she found out, Cissa came and told me. The two of us broke into the facility last night. You know the rest."

"My father, did he do this because he wanted to or because Voldemort commanded him to?" The question was addressed to Narcissa.

Both of them flinched at the name. Andromeda was completely against Voldemort. Sirius didn't know about Narcissa. Like all Blacks, she was proficient in the Dark Arts but that was about it.

"I don't know, I swear."

"Speaking of Voldemort, how many?" They knew exactly what he was asking.

"One attack in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade each, three in Knockturn Alley, two in Berkshire and a few houses."

"That's less than a dozen. He's laying low." And that meant only one thing.

A war is coming.

He still had many questions.

 _Why didn't his parents kill him? They had every chance._

 _Who else had been involved in this little scheme of theirs?_

 _What was the rest of his family currently up to?_

 _And lastly, why in Merlin's name did Narcissa look so bloody guilty?_

Was it because she'd betrayed her family by helping him? _Yes, that must be it._

"I need answers," Sirius stated. "There's this big blank in my head and I won't be satisfied until I have my answers." If he had been missing for such a long time, he clearly had a lot of work to do.

He needed to meet with the rest of the Marauders. _Those idiots_ , he thought fondly.

"And you'll get them," Andromeda promised.

"We brought a guest over last night when we got you out of that hellhole, cousin. I'm sure he'll prove to be very useful. Andromeda said that he'd called a 'Doctor.' Apparently, they are the muggle equivalent of Healers."

"And you're telling me this now?" This doctor could tell him a great deal about his father's plans.

"He's unconscious right now. He'll come around by nightfall. We can talk to him then. _Persuade_ him for information."

He was certainly going to _enjoy_ that.

"What's your plan of action now?" Andromeda asked.

"I need to keep a low profile. If there is anyone out there who knows about my parents' scheme, they'll go blabbing and that is the last thing I want."

"What day is it?" He asked.

"Saturday?" The confusion in Andromeda's voice was evident.

"Brilliant. It's a Hogsmeade weekend. I can go and meet up with James and the others."

He said it so casually like it was just any other day. Both his cousins looked at him like he was bloody bonkers.

"Are you mad? We don't break into a third- grade muggle hospital, drug the staff and kidnap the bloke in charge just so you can go charging back into danger. I thought you said you weren't going to go out into the open."

Sirius rolled his eyes at Narcissa's outburst. He had a way of meeting the boys without anyone getting even the slightest hint. His cousins simply weren't aware. Narcissa might have helped so far, but he still didn't trust her enough with _the_ secret.

"Relax, Cissy," he assured her. "I have no intention of disregarding your efforts. I have a plan, love. Don't worry."

"And I suppose you don't plan on telling us what exactly it is that you're up to?"

"You know me too well."

* * *

It was about four o'clock when Sirius left the Tonks' cottage.

"How are you alright with him simply wandering off like that? If any one of Orion's men or the Death Eaters spot him, all of this will have been for nothing."

"He wouldn't have listened to us anyway, Cissa. You know Sirius. He does what he wants and no one can convince him otherwise. I know that he's reckless but he's also powerful and this time, he'll be alert. He can handle himself."

"What makes you so confident, Andromeda?"

"Because I know our cousin. He'll be fine."

"I hope you're right, dear sister." Narcissa was silent for a minute or so before she spoke. "I was going to tell him the truth. Why did you interrupt me?"

Andromeda sighed and shook her head. "I admit I shouldn't have done that. I wasn't sure how he'd take the news."

"Yes you shouldn't have. Now if he hears it from those uncouth friends of his, he'll come back pissed because we didn't tell him. Besides, he still has to _question_ the muggle healer."

"Yes. Almost makes me feel sorry for the poor bastard."

* * *

James ordered his usual at the Three Broomsticks and tuned out while Remus and Lily placed their orders. He wasn't really in the mood.

Normally, whenever it was a Hogsmeade weekend, he and Sirius would go down to Zonko's to restock their supplies. The owner, was a good friend since they had provided him with excellent business for the past few years.

James knew that the Aurors had given up their search for Sirius and just assumed that he had either joined Voldemort or was dead.

That upset him to no end.

How could those useless sods give up so easily? More importantly, how could they even think that Sirius would be in league with Voldemort?

Aurors.

Back in Fifth year, he and Sirius had decided to join the Auror Department so that they could put away Death Eaters.

"Prongs, you have been staring at Mrs. Ackerman for a while now. Continue any longer and she will come over and slap you."

He snapped back at Remus' voice. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

Their orders arrived and they dug in. He was used to Lily's concerned looks by now and they didn't affect him. He knew that his girlfriend was worried but he wouldn't be himself again until he received some news about Sirius.

"Peter said that he and Marlene would meet us at Honeydukes."

They ate and paid after which the three of them started towards Honeydukes where they had to meet up as planned.

On the way _,_ James saw Ana Cassidy and her posse walking in their direction. He cracked up immediately, recalling what her face had looked like two years ago.

Unable to pass up on the opportunity to taunt her, he spoke: "Hey Cassidy, is that a boil on your forehead?"

She was so predictable. As expected, the girl shrieked and slapped a hand to her forehead, as of trying to hide the nonexistent blemish.

 _Works every time._

She glared at him when she realized that she'd walked right into it. "You're a bloody twat, Potter!"

She hurried away from there along with her clique with as much dignity she could muster.

"Honestly James, do you have to say that every time?" Lily tried and miserably failed to sound disapproving. She too hated Cassidy.

"Oh come on, Lils, she deserved it. Those boils were hilarious. Too bad they didn't las—Bloody hell! I swear, Moony, there are times where you can be even clumsier than me," James complained when Remus bumped into him from behind, shoving him forward.

Normally, this was the part where Remus would come up with a sarcastic remark but this time, he got nothing.

He turned around but Remus wasn't even looking at him. He seemed to be staring in the opposite direction, frozen in his spot.

James followed his line of vision and his heart nearly stopped.

A huge dog was standing only a short distance away. It was easily over a meter tall and black as midnight with piercing silvery eyes.

 _Padfoot_.

The dog turned around and disappeared into a small lane.

Remus and James took one glance at each other and took off after him. James barely heard Lily call his name as she trailed after them.

He wasn't going to lose that dog, not again.

They rounded the curve into the lane and saw the dog enter an abandoned store. The owner had been killed there in a Death Eater attack so the Aurors had cordoned off the place.

Once inside the shop, the boys saw paw prints in the dust, leading up the stairs.

James was hoping so much right now that the dog was who he thought he was that it was almost painful.

They went upstairs and there he was.

Dressed in muggle clothes and leaning against a table with his arms crossed across his broad chest and that typical smirk on his face.

Sirius Black in the flesh.

"Miss me?"

* * *

 **Next chapter: Marauder reunion and hello dark!Sirius.**

 **Wonder what's going to happen to that poor doctor *insert evil, maniacal laughter***

 **Don't be shy with your reviews, readers. The dogstar is watching you! Tell me what you think of this chapter and I'll start working on the next one.**

 **Is anyone else looking forward to the confrontation between Sirius and that poor, stupid doctor?**


	4. Chapter 4

_And when they broke his halo,_

 _he carved the two halves into horns._

* * *

James saw red. He almost charged at Sirius, ready to punch him in the gut.

"I'M GOING TO BLOODY KILL YOU!"

Sirius had only expected such an outburst. With an easy laugh, he grabbed James and the two of them wrestled. Sirius, who had spent years as a Beater was physically stronger, despite being sedated for a long time.

"Let me go you—"

"Language, Prongsie," Sirius teased, but let go. His light mood faltered when he looked at James. His eyes were glistening, his chest was heaving and there was a grey deal of angst on his normally carefree face.

 _Dammit, Prongs. Don't look at me like that, don't you dare give me that look._

The last thing he wanted was to be the reason behind his friends' pain and suffering.

"You disappear, just take off like that and now you have the nerve to show up? And you ask if we missed you? No, absolutely not! They were a breeze!"

James' voice was an octave higher and he looked suspiciously close to tears.

"Do you have any idea how worried we were? Everyone thought you were dead!" James' voice broke at the last word and he slumped against Sirius and hugged him for all he was worth, nine months of pent up frustration getting the better of him.

He had spent so long trying to ignore all those horrible rumors and claims that Sirius was either dead or a Death Eater. Whenever someone would so much as hint at something similar, James had snapped at them harshly.

Sirius tried to control his guilt as he hugged James back. Unlike him, he didn't actually realize just how much time had passed. While Sirius knew the truth now, he still felt like he had seen his friends only yesterday.

"You're a real softie, you know that, Prongs?" Sirius joked. He himself wasn't much of a hugger but James had always been one. Of course, he would vehemently deny that _preposterous_ accusation, but at the end of the day, James was who he was.

James pulled back and glared at him. "This doesn't mean you're forgiven. You better have one hell of an explanation for this."

"And I'll tell you everything. It'll be one hell of a tale," Sirius promised.

He grinned at Remus who was standing near the stairs, still apparently digesting the revelation that Sirius was indeed back.

"Looking peachy, Moony. Still not half as handsome as me, but not bad. Now get over here."

Sirius grabbed Remus in a headlock, narrowly dodging a punch from the normally calm werewolf.

"For Merlin's sake! Look at you two idiots!" Sirius shook his head, pretending to be disappointed. "I'm the one who's supposed to be all aggressive and reckless."

"James? Remus? Are you in here?" A soft voice called out which Sirius recognized as Lily's. "We're up here, Lils," said James.

There was the sound of footsteps coming inside the shop and upstairs. "What are you b—"

Lily stopped short when she saw who was standing between Remus and James.

"Sirius?" Her green eyes widened almost comically when she saw him.

"No, love. It's my evil clone who's here to steal your boyfriend and simultaneously take over the world. So, how much more good looking have I gotten?"

"Sirius Black, I swear—"

"You'll kill me?" He smirked at her. "These two have already threatened to do so."

Lily quickly crossed the distance and threw her arms around his neck, nearly squeezing the air out of him. It was quite funny actually, considering that he was taller than her by nearly a foot.

"Nice to see you too, Little Red." Sirius wrapped his arms around her waist, effortlessly lifting her off the ground.

The two of them had become quite close back in Sixth Year and she was somewhat like the little sister he'd never had.

He was rewarded by a smack on the chest. "Don't you call me that."

"Still the gorgeous spitfire I see."

"Padfoot, you can let go of my girlfriend any time now," James joked, finally having gotten a hold of himself.

After that, Sirius told them everything: right from the night he left James' house to that morning when he'd woken up at Tonks' cottage.

The three of them listened raptly, hanging onto his every word.

By the time he was done, all of them were properly shocked. James was almost fuming while Remus and Lily were also upset.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all that," Lily sympathised, rubbing his arm comfortingly.

"I'm fine, love. Like I said, I didn't feel the time. When I woke up this morning, it felt like I'd seen you three only last night."

"The Draught of Living Death was a pretty clever idea and placing you in a Muggle facility was even more cunning," Remus observed. "The Aurors would never think of looking in such a place."

"Narcissa helped you out?"

"I'm as surprised as you are," Sirius answered, thinking about the guilt on her face.

"Peter will be thrilled to know that you're back," Remus said. "He was also down in the dumps this year. We all were."

"Don't tell Peter." The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Sirius didn't know why he'd just said that. Peter was also their friend.

But it was this strange feeling in his gut that had made him say it.

Telling Peter somehow didn't feel right. It was inexplicable but Sirius was certain not telling him was the right thing to do.

"Why not?" James frowned.

"The lesser number of people who know about my return, the better. Peter tends to get overexcited very easily. It's a miracle he's managed to keep quiet about us being Animagi."

"You mean you're not coming back to Hogwarts?" James asked, visibly displeased with the idea.

"Afraid not, mate. It's best if I lie low for a few days. I need to know about all the spies my father has appointed on his own or on Voldemort's orders."

"Spies?"

"Obviously. Some of the Seventh Year Slytherins who are still at Hogwarts might be the spies we're looking for."

"Alright," James agreed.

They chatted for a while longer, idle talk. James, Lily and Remus filled Sirius in on everything he had missed that year.

"So Moony, is my baby brother still helping you out with Potions? I was hoping to meet him as well but couldn't spot him."

He only hoped Regulus had managed okay. Sure, he could take care of himself, but Sirius was a big brother. Of course he worried.

Sirius' brother, Regulus Black, although two years younger than them was intellectually superior than most around him.

While Regulus strongly disliked James, he got along with Remus quite well. They were friends actually. Last year, Regulus had started helping Remus out with Potions.

No sooner had the words left Sirius' mouth than Remus' face fell. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" Sirius asked.

Remus and James exchanged worried glances which only increased Sirius' impatience.

"Know _what_ , Remus?"

"Regulus disappeared a month ago."

A beat.

"Excuse me?" That wasn't the reply he'd been expecting. "What do you mean he _disappeared_?"

James bit his lip. "Disappeared, like the other Slytherins. Like Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Crouch—"

"Those arseholes are all Death Eaters. Reggie's not one of them."

He couldn't be.

"Sirius, h—"

"What happened?"

"I don't know," Remus admitted. "One day he was there at the Slytherin table and the next day he wasn't. I asked Slughorn but he had no answer."

Sirius refused to accept this. There was no way Regulus, his baby brother could have become a Death Eater. Regulus didn't like the Dark side. He hated it.

First he found out that he had been comatose for months and now his little brother was missing?

 _Could things get any worse?_

"Where are you going now?" James asked, already getting up to follow him.

"To get the answers that I bloody well deserve."

* * *

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be away for so long, Andromeda? Nymphadora is still quite little, isn't she? Won't she miss her mother?" Narcissa asked.

"Not for another week. She, Ted and his family are having the time of their lives in Rome."

"Holiday with Muggles. Must be... interesting."

The front door opened and Sirius walked inside, accompanied by... James Potter?

Narcissa frowned at the bespectacled boy. "What's he doing here? Don't you have to be at school?"

"Not until tomorrow morning. Remus will cover for me," James grinned at the two sisters goofily.

"Cissa," Sirius' voice was thick with sarcasm. "James is here because he wanted to come along and because he's been more honest with me than either of you."

The sisters glanced at each other and then back at him.

"We wanted to. But then we also knew that you'd be furious since you had only just woken up to realize that you were asleep for the better part of a year. Another shocking revelation was the last thing you needed."

Sirius wanted to snap, to get angry at his cousins, but he knew that they were right. He had already been enraged on finding out about what his parents had done to him. News of Reggie's disappearance would have only fueled his rage.

He sank into the sofa and buried his face in his hands. It made sense now.

They wanted him out of the way. What he didn't understand was why didn't they kill him. That would have taken care of the situation permanently. And why wait for eight months to take Regulus away? Why not as soon as he'd been put under the influence of the Draught of Living Death?

He felt an arm around his shoulders. "We'll find him, Padfoot."

 _Oh he most certainly would._

"Tell me everything you know. And _please_ , for Merlin's sake, do not leave out any details."

"When Orion paid that doctor to keep you sedated in his hospital, I didn't think much of it," Narcissa confessed. "I didn't bother to find out where he'd taken you or why. Because... Because I didn't care."

"And?"

"Then, a week after your disappearance, Lucius proposed and I accepted his marriage proposal. We got along well together and it was the right thing to do."

Sirius didn't agree but this wasn't the right time to voice his opinions on Narcissa's marital issues.

"I said yes because Lucius is... pliable enough and I didn't want to end up with someone like Rabastan. More importantly, I didn't want to...," she looked at her sister then at him. "...to be blasted off the family tree. I'm not brave enough."

For the first time ever, Sirius saw something very different in here eyes: vulnerability.

"Lucius and I started spending a lot of time together and I found him tolerable. He was easy to control and manipulate."

"Just when I thought things were getting better, Orion and Walburga declared last month that it was time for me to pledge my allegiance to You-Know-Who and join him. He said the Dark Lord was already displeased with our family because you, Sirius, didn't agree to serve him."

Sirius had noticed that she didn't have the Dark Mark.

"I didn't want that kind of life for myself. So I lied my way out."

Sirius had a bad feeling about this.

"I faked a pregnancy test."

" _What_?"

"It isn't as far fetched as it sounds," Narcissa protested, turning red. "Lucius and I had been... together quite a few times by then so no one questioned it. And spells are not hard to twist. So I told them that they would have to chose someone else."

"Your mother didn't balk?" Druella was a rather conservative woman. Her darling daughter pregnant before marriage?

 _What a stain on her spotless reputation!_

"Her acceptance surprised me too. She talked about wanting a grandchild and was happy, in her own way of course. I almost felt guilty lying to her. Lucius on the other hand wasn't all that happy."

"And how do you plan to get out of this... situation?"

Apparently a lot had happened in the last few months.

"Already did. Miscarriages are equally as easy to fake. One day I'm pregnant and the very next week, it's gone. Mother was disappointed, Lucius was actually relieved while the rest were indifferent. The wedding was also postponed. This was only supposed to be a temporary solution. I had no idea my one lie would have such devastating consequences."

"What happened, Narcissa?"

The woman swallowed before speaking again. "I was supposed to be our family's next Death Eater. But my _pregnancy_ changed things. Walburga said they had to make amends or we'd lose You-Know-Who's favour. She said there was no other option."

"And so she took Regulus instead, didn't she?"

Narcissa nodded. "It was supposed to be me. But I was too afraid to speak the truth and Regulus ended up paying the price. There was no trace of him the very next day." A lone tear escaped her eye.

While Narcissa and Sirius hadn't exactly gotten along, she and Regulus were like siblings.

All this had occurred in that one short week between Narcissa's _pregnancy_ and subsequent _miscarriage_.

No wonder she blamed herself. Regulus was never intended to join Voldemort. At least not so soon. He was only sucked in because Narcissa had cheated her way out.

"Did Reggie agree to this?" He didn't think Regulus would have wanted to be a Death Eater. No, the brother he knew hated Voldemort.

"I don't think so. Like I said, your parents whisked him away. I haven't seen them or Regulus since that day."

"Which is why I soughtAndromeda out and went through Orion's things to find out where you were. Together, we broke into that muggle hospital and got you out. If anyone can get Regulus back, it's you."

"I will find him, I promise." But he wasn't promising them. It was a promise to himself. He was going to get to his little brother. After that, he'd take his family down. One at a time.

"What's your plan of action now?" Asked Andromeda.

"First, I'm going to get my little brother back. And then I'll destroy them all."

He would make them pay. Starting with his parents, they would all pay, they'd beg for mercy and that would be the one thing he'd never show them. Not anymore.

A plan was already taking root in his brain. It was only a matter of time before he implemented it.

"Where's the doctor?" Sirius asked, only them noticing that the prisoner wasn't in the living room anymore.

"We moved him to the basement. I believe he'll be easier to crack once he's spent a few hours in the darkness in the stale, stuffy air."

"He's awake then?" Sirius was on his feet in an instant.

"Oh he is. He was terrified and then angry and then both together."

"Lovely. Let's go have a little _chat_ with the nice doctor."

"That's your privilege, Sirius," Narcissa smirked, sounding more like herself again. "The man was responsible for your comatose. If anyone deserves to make him suffer, it's you. Besides, I've had enough drama for the day."

"Fine."

Sirius pauses at the door to the basement. "You sure about coming downstairs, Prongs? Things might get ugly."

James gave him a look that clearly said: _well duh._

* * *

He was suffocating. His tight clothes clung to his skin which was drenched in sweat. The white coat which he took pride in seemed to grow thicker and only served to increase his discomfort. The place was pitch dark and the last thing he remembered was two women breaking into his hospital and knocking him out. He had never seen them before but he knew their kind very well.

They were magical people.

The last wizard he had met was a man named Orion Black who's paid him a _very_ handsome fee for a job: keep his son thoroughly sedated.

Now here he was, stuck in some basement, bound to a hard wooden chair, the hunger and thirst weakening his body by the minute.

The door opened and light streamed in from upstairs. He could make out the outlines of two figures descending the stairs.

The door closed behind them and a minute later, the room was suddenly illuminated. The sight of the first person chilled him to the bone. His mouth went dry and his limbs turned numb, paralysed from fear.

Sirius Black.

The young man smiled and it was the most terrifying sight on earth.

There was a predatory gleam in his silvery eyes that made his blood run cold.

"Good evening, Doctor."

* * *

 **Chapter five is on the way, readers.**

 **R &R and and tell me what you liked/disliked about this chapter.**

 **What will the doctor reveal in the next chapter?**

 **What is Sirius' plan?**

 **Keep reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Yes, I know there's a special place in hell for me._

 _It's called the throne._

* * *

"It's about time we talked, yes?"

Sirius watched with satisfaction as every bit of colour drained away from the man's face.

He levelled the doctor with a long, hard look, taking in his appearance: he was middle-aged, his hair was matted and clung to his forehead. The shirt he was wearing underneath his white coat appeared uncomfortably tight with the buttons straining against his generous middle. His ill-fitting white coat had a blue stain on the right pocket.

Sirius snapped his fingers and a table appeared out of thin air. He pushed himself up on the table and sat down cross legged.

This relaxed, casual posture was somehow even more sinister.

Although his stance was the picture of calm minus the raging storm in his eyes, Sirius was seething on the inside.

This man was a willing accomplice in his parents' scheme and had been partially responsible for his fate during the last few months.

He had pricked and prodded at him, pumping him with drugs: both muggle as well as magical, probably experimented on him and what not. It took every bit of self control not to tear the man apart right there.

"Why don't we start with your name?"

The man didn't open his mouth.

"Doctor, we can either do this like proper, civilised gentlemen or take the other path which might not be so favourable for you. The choice is yours, obviously. Either is fine with me."

Leglimency was not an option in this case. Muggle brains were genetically different from magical ones and lacked that extra strength. There was a strong chance that a muggle's mind could be irreversibly damaged if Leglimency was used on him. And the doctor would be of no use if he was brain dead.

Torture, however was something every human could bear to a certain degree. That was one technique Sirius was more than willing to deploy if necessary.

"Let's try again. Your name, Doctor?"

The man gulped thickly before he spoke. "R-Robert. Robert Admorn."

"Dr Admorn, I see. You can start by telling me _when_ my parents came to see you and how did they come to know of you. My parents are a prejudiced lot with a wand up their arse. There's absolutely no way they would know any muggle personally."

"I work for... work for Marius. I'm his doctor. That's how I knew about your kind."

That made sense. Marius Black was the only squib in the Black family and had been blasted off the family tree by his father, Cygnus Black II.

"Did he tell you about us?" That didn't sound like Marius. Sirius had met the man only twice in his life but he was very reserved, always kept to himself.

Admorn shook his head. "Two years ago, Marius had a heart attack. A woman came to visit him in the hospital. I overheard them talking. That's how I found out."

Sirius nodded at the man to keep going.

"She caught me eavesdropping. I thought she was going to report me but she didn't. Instead, she told me that I owed her a favour and that one day, she would come and collect."

"This woman was my mother I assume?"

Fear overtook his face. "Y-Yes. But I only found that out the next time!" His eyes widened like he had said something he wasn't supposed to.

"Next time?"

"I cannot! She will kill me!"

Quick as a flash, Sirius curled his fingers into a fist, opened it and flicked his wrist.

There was a series of slow sickening cracks from the doctor's left hand as the wrist bones broke.

Admorn screamed in pain and hunched over, trying to cradle his left hand, forgetting that both hands and legs were tightly bound.

"Those were the carpals, in case you were wondering," Sirius continued calmly, like he hadn't just broken the man's bones.

"Eight down, a hundred and ninety eight to go. So, mother dearest, tell me about her. What did she want?"

The man was whimpering, tears of pain rolling down his cheeks. "She was t-tall, grey eyes—" he whimpered once again. "—and... long, straight black hair and her right arm w-was in a sling."

Sirius' suspicions were confirmed. The woman was none other than Walburga Black. She had fractured her arm at that time from one of Voldemort's tantrums.

"Her next visit. Start talking."

Admorn glanced at Sirius and then remembered Walburga's warning. Finally, he decided to go with the lesser of the two evils. Walburga wasn't here now. Her son on the other hand...

"She came last J-July. Said she had a job for me."

"What did she want?"

"She showed me a p-picture. It was... It was moving! Your picture. Said she wanted me to... wanted me to take care of a situation."

"And the nature of this situation?"

"I had to... I had to keep h-you in a ward, comatose, for as long as she required. She gave me several large bottles of a liquid and said I had to make sure you were... you were hooked on to it."

The Draught of Living Death.

"And when did my father enter this transaction?"

"A week after." Admorn sniffed pathetically before continuing. "He paid me good money. He said that he had already made the patient comfortable in my hospital inside a ward. He gave me details."

Trust Orion Black to break into a muggle hospital, dump Sirius in a ward, pay the doctor and walk out of there with his hands in his pocket. Unnoticed.

"Details?"

The doctor was overcome by fear once more. Nothing shocking there.

There was hardly a soul who met Orion and Walburga Black and not terrified of them within the first ten seconds.

Sirius however possessed no sympathy for this cowardly man and didn't care what he did in order to get what he needed.

He curled his finger and the doctor coughed violently until his face was almost red.

"Let me remind you, a hundred and ninety eight to go. I'm waiting, Doctor. The details if you will."

"You can't do this to me! Please stop, I'm begging you. I'm sorry for what I did to you but please stop! T-This is... this is illegal! P-Please!"

Sirius snapped. He curled his fingers around the edge of the table to stop himself from beating the man to a bloody pulp.

"Sorry? Illegal? After all that you've done, you still have the audacity to say those words to my face?"

"I—"

"Shut up! You accepted bribes from a complete stranger and agreed to do his dirty work with no qualms whatsoever! You didn't feel any guilt back then about ruining another person's life. You didn't think about how this would affect me or the ones I care about. Now, when you're in hot water, you're suddenly sorry?"

The man's face paled because of Sirius' growing ire.

"Excuse me if I don't feel very sympathetic for your predicament. You got yourself into this mess. See I don't care if I have to rip you to shreds to get what I need. You may think that my father is a dangerous man, but that's only because you don't know me."

Admorn looked into Sirius' eyes and shuddered. There was a storm brewing in there. One consisting of anger, outrage, sense of betrayal in its most raw form. There wasn't any compassion or pity in his unyielding glare.

"You know, Doc, I'd listen to him if I were you."

Sirius whipped around to look at James who was on the left corner of the room. He had nearly forgotten that James was present in here with him.

There was no judgement on his face and Sirius was thankful as well as relived. While his friends knew that there was another darker side to the carefree Marauder, they hadn't witnessed it till date. The acceptance lifted a burden off of him.

James looked alright, sitting on an old trunk with his forearms resting on his knees.

Sirius turned back to Admorn.

"Details. Now." The doctor gulped apprehensively.

"He told me the dosage for the bottles W-Walburga Black had given me earlier. He said that he would send someone to check on you every two or three months or so."

"Who did he send?"

"I d-don't know."

"Like I've already mentioned, and proved, I'm willing to do whatever it takes—"

"I don't know! I'm not lying I swear. I never saw any stranger enter your ward. And there were guards everywhere. He must have... he must have done his job with magic!"

Sirius studied Admorn's face intently. It didn't look like he was lying. It was likely that his father's lackey must have popped into the ward, checked, and disappeared.

That was Orion Black. Cold and precise. So he obviously expected nothing less from others.

"What happened to your coat?"

For some reason, that blue stain had been bugging him. It was too light to be ink.

The doctor frowned and looked down at his white coat and the blue stain on the pocket.

When Admorn shrugged in response, Sirius thrust his hand out towards the pocket and the contents flew out of it.

Pieces of glass.

The shards assembled themselves to form a tiny round bottom flask.

He raised his hand again and the blue stain slowly started disappearing from the coat. At the same time, an equal amount of a dark blue liquid collected in the flask. He took a whiff but found it to be absolutely odourless.

"Care to explain?"

"I found it... I found it on my desk on the day those women broke in. I was returning from the loo after lunch when it was there, many vials of them in a package. It came with instructions. I had to administer it to you every alternate night."

"And you failed to mention this until now. It's still in here. Why didn't you administer the dosage?"

Admorn licked his lips which were dry. "I had filled the syringe and was about to. But then curiosity got the better of me. I'd never seen anything like it and I wanted to know more about your kind. I decided to take it to my lab and experiment but then those women got there before I could."

Sirius made a mental note to thank Andromeda and Narcissa for their timing.

When the man only paled, Sirius decided he was done with him for now. He sealed the flask and pocketed it. Andromeda could examine it later on.

"We'll call it a day. I'll be back if I need anything else."

"You're not letting me go?"

"Let you go? Not until I have all my answers." Sirius got off the table and snapped his fingers. A plate of sandwiches and a jug of water appeared.

He could be ruthless, not inhuman.

He twirled his index finger and a bandage wrapped itself around the man's broken wrist and glowed a faint blue. "That should heal in a day's time."

With another snap of his fingers, the bonds holding him came free.

"Don't bother to try and escape, its useless. The place is warded and cloaked."

James and Sirius made to the staircase, leaving the doctor behind.

Sirius paused at the top stair. "If I find out that you've lied to me..."

* * *

Remus was supposed to be studying, he knew that very well. The NEWTS were less than a month away. Although he had prepared well for them, he wanted to do more.

But his mind kept wandering back to the day's events. He still couldn't believe Sirius was actually back. But damn, from what he had told them, it sounded like he had been through hell.

Drugged and locked away in some remote hospital for months! He shivered at the very thought. And then there was Regulus.

Remus had befriended the other boy last year. He wasn't as scary as everyone made him out to be. Intimidating, definitely. But not terrifying.

His mind wandered to that day back in Sixth Year when he had made the youngest Black's acquaintance:

 _Remus was sitting in the library, furiously working on his potions homework. Potions wasn't exactly his strong suit. He excelled at all other subjects except this one._

 _Sure, he could easily score an Acceptable or even an Exceeds Expectations if he worked hard, but not the Outstanding that he wanted_.

 _He had come to the library, hoping that the peace and quiet would help him study, but to no avail._

 _He knew that he could use a little help but was embarrassed to say it. He refused to be happy with just an E._

 _"The lacewing flies must be stewed for twenty one days, not eighteen."_

 _Remus jumped in his skin and turned to his right to see Regulus Black sitting two chairs away, a thick book in his hands. "Beg pardon?"_

 _"You've been mumbling about Lacewing since the last ten minutes. They're only used in the Polyjuice Potion. It doesn't take a genius to figure the rest out. There are others around here as well so if you could keep it down, Lupin, it would be much appreciated."_

 _"How do you know so much about the Polyjuice? It's Sixth Year stuff."_

 _Regulus looked up from his book and at Remus, his cold grey eyes boring into him and he resisted the urge to flinch._

 _Regulus had that typical Black stare: calculating, aloof and proud._

 _Remus had seen the very same look sometimes when Sirius spoke to people like Malfoy and Crouch._

 _"While you don't know this, I know several things about several things. Not everyone is an utter oaf like Potter. Still don't understand why my brother is friends with him."_

 _Remus couldn't comprehend why Regulus seemed to hate James so much. Every time the two boys crossed paths, Regulus looked at James like he was nothing more than something disgusting stuck to his shoe._

 _"Why do you hate him so much?"_

 _"Hate is a powerful word, Lupin. I strongly dislike Potter. My reason is none of your business."_

 _Remus didn't press any further._

 _Remus studied quietly for five minutes more before arriving at another difficulty. He glanced at Regulus who was engrossed in his book._

 _He couldn't make out the title, but Remus was certain that it wasn't something Fourth Years would prefer reading._

 _Sighing, he got back to his work, reading the text for the fifth time._

 _"Give me that."_

 _Regulus raised an eyebrow at him expectantly and pointed towards Remus' essay._

 _"Why?"_

 _"It's very frustrating to watch you struggle with something as simple as the Polyjuice. If I sit here and listen to you read the same thing over and over, I will lose my mind. Hand it over, Lupin."_

 _"Go and sit somewhere else," Remus suggested, keeping his annoyance in check._

 _"This is my spot. I'm not moving from here." Regulus pointed his wand at the parchment and quill and they slid over into his hands._

 _The younger boy looked at the worn quill with a slight frown and read through Remus' essay. He struck out a couple of lines, circled a few words and scribbled something down._

 _Five minutes later, he slid the essay and wordlessly went back to the book he was reading._

 _Remus read what Regulus had written. The Slytherin hadn't done his homework but merely given him a few pointers here and there._

 _It was more than enough and Remus was grateful._

 _"Thank you."_

 _Regulus didn't look at him. He simply nodded once. But Remus could have sworn he'd seen a hint of a smile right then._

Neither boy was aware that one dumb essay would lead to something else altogether.

Remus hoped Regulus was alright, wherever he was. He firmly believed that he wasn't evil.

He wasn't.

* * *

It was late. James, Narcissa and Sirius had called it a night hours ago. Narcissa and Sirius had gone to their respective guest bedrooms while James had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Andromeda however was busy at work, away from Tonks Cottage.

She glared at the two vials on the table: one was the Draught of Living Death which she had found at the hospital and the other vial was the new unknown potion in the doctor's coat. She had examined them for perhaps the tenth time. And she had received the same results.

The Draught of Living Death was simple and straightforward, although a stronger dose than normal. The blue potion was vaguely familiar in her mind. She recalled seeing something like this years ago but she couldn't remember for the life of her.

And that was horribly frustrating. If Andromeda prided herself on anything, it was her Potion skills. Not knowing about a potion was annoying and irritating.

She was currently in her own house, the one she lived in with her husband and daughter, in the library, going over every single book that she had on potions. Her kit lay on the floor next to her, the ingredients all haphazardly placed.

She had been at it for nearly three hours now.

She was glad that Ted and and Dora weren't in town now. The last thing she wanted was to drag them into her never ending family drama.

They deserved bette—

 _No bloody way!_

All thoughts fled her brain when her eyes caught something on the page.

This changed things. If Voldemort or Orion planned on using this potion on Regulus too...

The very thought made Andromeda shiver.

She had to tell Sirius about this right _now_.

* * *

 **And that's chapter five for you.**

 **Remus and Regulus: their friendship is something I will be exploring in the coming chapters. It's always been one of my headcannons and so I want to work on it in this story.**

 **Sirius' plans will also be revealed slowly in subsequent chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING: Mature themes in this chapter.**

* * *

 _That's the thing about pain..._

 _It demands to be felt._

* * *

Sirius was fast asleep when he felt someone shaking him awake.

He was up in an instant, all senses alert, but relaxed when he saw that it was only Andromeda. "Bloody hell, Andi. Can't you let a man sleep?"

"Outside, now. I'll wake Cissa." That was all she said before practically running out of the room. Bewildered, Sirius tugged the covers off, now fully awakened by the urgency in Andromeda's voice.

He went outside where James was still sleeping with his left leg thrown over the sofa's backrest and his right arm hanging awkwardly.

"Wake up. Andi's got news." He rubbed his knuckles against James' head.

"W-What?" He blinked owlishly, still not completely up. "What time is it?"

"Around three. Now get up."

Grumbling about the injustice and unfairness in the world, James sat up.

A minute later, Andromeda and Narcissa came to the living room as well. Narcissa, ever the lady had managed to neatly do her hair so that every strand was perfectly in place and her face didn't give away any indication of drowsiness.

"What'd you find, Andi?"

They were all seated around the coffee table, waiting for the woman to tell them what she'd discovered.

Andromeda laced her fingers together and rested her elbows on her legs. "That potion, when you gave it to me, I immediately knew that I had seen it somewhere, read about it in some book a few years ago. I took both vials back home and examined them. The Draught of Living Death was quite straightforward, only stronger. It was the blue potion that frightened me."

Andromeda was rarely ever afraid of anything.

"What about it, Andi?"

"The potion is called _Le Vide_ which literally means—"

"The Void," Sirius finished.

"Correct. It's a very rare potion which was invented by Elysande Black back in 1846."

"And what exactly is its purpose?" Sirius asked.

"The potion was designed to eliminate all thoughts, emotions, experiences and anything else that made you human."

"Like the _Imperius_?"

"This potion is nothing like the _Imperius_ curse or the memory charm. _Obliviate_ merely erases your memory. There is always a fair chance that you will get it back with the proper treatment. The Imperius curse robs you of your will and makes you a puppet in the hands of the caster."

" _Le Vide_ , renders the victim's mind utterly blank. It robes the victim of their identity. You lose the very semblance of who you are and what defines you. No emotions, memories or even a flicker of who you were. It's like you've been broken down and remoulded into someone entirely different."

"Other than the intellectual knowledge you possess, your mind is completely void. I also found a blood sample in the potion. While brewing the potion, you add a drop of blood from the one who shall control you. That bends your mind completely to their will and you _will_ follow their every command. You can fight the Imperius curse. But how will you fight against something which runs through your blood? There is no resistance, only surrender."

"You-Know-Who didn't want you dead, Sirius, he never did. He wanted you on his team. You were supposed to be his ultimate weapon. A drop of his blood and his job was done. With your memories and feelings gone, you would be nothing more than a very valuable, powerful means to his victory. Killing you would be his greatest loss."

Sirius felt the anger course through him once more in the last twenty four hours. Of course his parents would do anything to win Voldemort's favour again. Even if that involved selling their own sons to him.

Sirius had never been in the way. At least not his power and intellect. It was his morals and beliefs which were Voldemort's biggest obstacle.

Sirius' power was something Voldemort wanted more than anything else.

And Sirius would make sure he never got it.

"That fucking snake," he cursed, his voice low.

"You know," Andromeda began, sensing the tension in the room. "There's actually a story behind the invention of _Le Vide_."

"Of course there is," Narcissa said. "We're talking about Blacks after all. No one has a greater flair for dramatics than us."

Andromeda smirked at her sister before launching into the tale.

"The potion was never revealed to the rest of the world. While immensely talented, Elysande was also incredibly selfish. Her precious recipe was hidden away in one of the many books inside the Black library so that only the family may have access to it."

" _Heav'n has no Rage, like Love to Hatred turn'd, Nor Hell a Fury, like a Woman scorn'd._ This was a line from a muggle play. This line is Elysande's story in a nutshell."

"A cheating husband?"

"Yeah."

"You're saying that she actually loved the bloke before she found out he was a cheater?" Love between husband and wife in the Black family was rare.

If you are a Black, marriage was nothing more than a political alliance, a means to ensure and secure continued power and authority. There were certain criteria one needed to fulfil in order to be accepted into the Black family.

Blood purity topped the list followed by wealth, a shrewd mind, common interests such as hatred towards muggles, blood traitors, an understanding and liking for the Dark Arts and of course: fertility.

 _Love?_

 _Now why in the world would that meddlesome little thing be necessary?_

"Elysande got married to Eros Black when she was only eighteen. Eros was a womaniser. Elysande was naive enough to believe that their marriage would change him and make him a better man."

"Stupid girl if you ask me," Narcissa muttered, although there was something different about her tone.

"I'm guessing her happily ever after wasn't exactly happy?"

"No. For a while, everything was great. The couple was even expecting. Their son, Phineas Nigellus Black was a great man, but this isn't about him."

"Anyway, one night, Elysande returned from her mother's house earlier than expected and caught Eros in bed with _two_ women."

James winced and shook his head. "Harsh."

"Indeed. She accepted her husband's apology and presents and pretended to go on with her life like nothing was wrong. And then she began to plot her revenge."

"How sweet," James mumbled.

"Elysande was a brilliant potioneer. She used her skill to twist him to her will. Her husband had betrayed her so she got even by taking away his freedom and identity. She reduced him to nothing more than a slave to obey her every command. Some skill and a single drop of blood was all it took."

"And then, she made him brutally murder each and every one of his mistresses and any other woman he had slept with even before their marriage. One of them was tortured by the Cruciatus, the other was given a slow poison, another was whipped to shreds with a dragon hide whip and so on."

"The worst part? No one could prove these murders back to either Eros or Elysande."

"Elysande died giving birth to Phineas and so there was no one to control Phineas anymore. His mind had gotten accustomed to obeying her and only her. He began to lose his mind and a year later, he died."

"So one of our ancestors cheats on his wife and over a hundred years later I have to pay the price?" Sirius shook his head and laughed dryly. "Some girls write a song, paint or break stuff when their partner is an arse. But this one invented a potion designed to wipe out her husband's personality and then sent him on a homicidal spree. Nice."

Sirius was bitter, of course he was. It was amazing how after everything his family had done, they could still surprise him with their cruelty.

"Just when I thought our family couldn't get any more dysfunctional and fucked up than it already is."

James bumped Sirius' shoulder with his. "Don't talk like that, Padfoot. You've got a family. Me, Remus, Pete, Lily, Regulus, Andromeda and even old Minnie."

Sirius quirked a grin at his best mate, lucky to have all these brilliant people in his life.

No one noticed Narcissa's face fall ever so slightly and her mask faltered for a split second before it was back on again.

* * *

"Mr Potter, stay after class please. I'd like a word." James wondered what he had done now before he realised that he had been late to almost every Transfiguration class that week.

After the talk last night, he had fallen asleep on the couch, partially using Sirius as his pillow. He'd overslept and had to rush back to school before anyone noticed his disappearance.

He'd missed breakfast too. He was yet to fill Remus in about what he'd found out. They were all still sticking to not telling Peter anything so he would have to corner the werewolf sometime later.

"Yes ma'am," he have her a two fingered salute and a cheeky grin.

After class, once all the other students had filed out, James went to Mcgonagall's desk like he'd been asked.

"Yes, Minnie?"

She gave him a severe look which he'd grown used to. "Don't call me that, Potter. Do you know why I wish to speak with you?"

"Because I'm awesome?" James guessed with the most innocent face he could muster.

She wasn't amused. "Mr Potter, you have been late to every lesson for a while now. I'm afraid you will have to report to my office tomorrow evening. Detention."

James had expected as much. "If you insist, Minnie."

"Did you um... have you heard anything about Mr Black?" James picked up on the hope in her tone and it broke his heart that he had to lie to her.

The Marauders weren't the only ones who had despaired over Sirius' disappearance.

Every morning, Minerva Mcgonagall would almost desperately scan the Prophet for some news on Sirius. She kept asking James and the others if they had heard anything.

Hell she had even barged into the Ministry a couple of times and demanded that the Aurors actually search for Sirius instead of talking about how he had gone rogue.

The first few months had been terrible indeed.

James knew that while most of the world saw Mcgonagall as a stern and stoic professor, she was a real softie on the inside. And while she could vehemently deny having any favourites, he knew better.

She had a soft spot for Sirius Black right from the beginning.

"I'm sorry, Professor," he replied, unable to look her in the eyes and see that hope shatter. "I don't know."

"Very well, Mr Potter," she replied, her voice composed as ever. "I shall see you tomorrow in my office. I have a few old documents that need sorting."

* * *

That morning, Sirius went downstairs to the basement where Admorn was asleep. The doctor had found himself an old mattress and was snoring.

"Doc? Wake up."

A small spray of water hit the older man in the face, waking him instantly. When his eyes focused on Sirius, he bolted upright, his eyes wide with fear.

Sirius rolled his eyes at the man. "Relax, will you? I'm not here to question you. Believe it or not, your curiosity to know about that potion actually did me a huge favour."

Had it not been for Admorn's greed and meddlesome ways...

Sirius shuddered, disgusted by the mere thought of serving that power hungry sod.

"W-what?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself or thank you if that's what you want. Trust me, you've caused more harm than help. You're done here."

"W-what?" Admorn asked again, sounding pathetically stupid.

"Keep up will you? You're free to go. I'll obviously wipe your mind and then you can go running back to your Muggle life."

"You're not going to kill me?"

Sirius felt mild anger flare up in him. "I'm not a murderer, Doctor."

"Come on."

Admorn scrambled after Sirius up the stairs. He paled a bit when he saw Andromeda and Narcissa in the living room but the women paid him no heed.

Sirius led him beyond the wards and once they were on the outside, he snapped his fingers.

" _Oblivium omnes_."

A dazed look appeared on Admorn's face and his eyes became unfocused. He rose a couple of inches off the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head.

A minute more and he wouldn't remember a thing about the Black family, his own wicked deeds or even a whisper of the Wizarding world.

Sirius then tapped the man's shoulder and transformed the doctor's coat into a Portkey and activated it.

The man disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Robert Admorn would wake up in a few hours in his home with no recollection of anything that had occurred in the past few days.

He wouldn't know why a chunk of his hospital and office was blown up or about how he had played a part in ripping two brothers away from one another.

The lucky coward.

* * *

 _"I got an O." Remus had never gotten an O before in Potions._

 _"How wonderful, Lupin. Go buy yourself some chocolate," Regulus replied. The Black was sitting in his usual corner in the library, working on something._

 _When Remus pulled up a chair to sit next to him, Regulus slammed his book shut and shoved it inside before the werewolf could see what it was that he had been doing._

 _"Look," Remus insisted, holding out his essay for Regulus to see._

 _Regulus obliged and saw the big O on top of the page. "You're welcome, Lupin."_

 _"So uh, I was wondering if you could help me out more often? Potions is a difficult subject and you're brilliant at it. Would you mind um... coaching me every now and then?"_

 _Regulus raised an eyebrow at him. "Let me get this straight. You want me to tutor you in Potions? Why not my brother or Evans?"_

 _Remus scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Lily has a lot on her plate right now and Sirius is... well he's Sirius."_

 _Regulus regarded him steadily and Remus used every bit of his Gryffindor courage to not avert his gaze._

 _"Fine. Every Wednesday and Friday in the library. Four o' clock. Don't be late or the deal's off."_

 _"W-what? You'll do it?" Remus had expected that he'd have to do a lot more convincing and groveling._

 _"It's not like I have much to do. I'll see you on Wednesday, Lupin. Don't be late."_

 _And with that, Regulus got up and left._

Remus shook himself out of the memory. He hadn't expected to become such good friends with Regulus Black but he had.

Initially, he'd mistaken Regulus for another condescending, prejudiced Slytherin but had slowly discovered that there was so much more to him.

He just hoped Regulus was alright, wherever he was.

* * *

Narcissa knew that this was a terrible idea but she had no other choice.

Although she'd rather be anywhere but back here, she had to do this.

Once that muggle had left, she, Sirius and Andromeda had sat and discussed their next course of action.

Andromeda has said that there was still a lot she didn't know about the potion: its recipe and the duration of its effect. While her older sister was indeed a Potions expert, there were things that even she didn't know. The potions books which she had managed to smuggle out weren't adequate.

Andromeda had said that all the information they needed on _Le Vide_ was in the Black library, inside the Manor.

So here she was, in the library at Black Manor, desperately searching for what she needed.

Narcissa didn't know where her family was at the present but the house was deathly silent. She'd been here for an hour now. She had even cast a quick _Revelio_ before entering and found that there wasn't anyone here.

Her grey eyes gleamed triumphantly in the dim light of her wand when she spotted the book in question. The letters were faded and covered in dust but she managed anyway.

She pulled it out and flipped through the contents.

If only she had been alert enough to hear the footsteps coming her way or the figure currently standing only a few feet from her.

"Narcissa dear, I didn't know you were back."

* * *

 ***Cue evil maniacal laughter***

 **Whoever could the newcomer be? What will happen to poor Narcissa now?**

 **More on Sirius, Cissa, Regulus and the others in the coming chapters.**

 **Eros and Elysande's story is completely mine including their names. I thought it would be interesting to explore more Black family dynamics since that's exactly what this book is about. It's their darkness which has always drawn me in.**

 **Don't worry, the other Blacks will make an appearance in the future chapters. And Sirius' magical potential will also be revealed up ahead later.**

 **R &R, darlings!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Demons run when a good man goes to war._

* * *

Narcissa's mouth went dry and her limbs turned to lead at the sound of the voice.

The library was suddenly illuminated by the newcomer's wand.

Her eyes flickered towards the potions book clutched in her hand while her brain rapidly thought of a way out.

She was thankful that her wand was in her hand and pointed in the direction of the book. Still keeping her back firmly turned, she flicked her wand discreetly, transfiguring the potions book into some history book.

She then took a deep breath and turned around.

"Good evening, Aunt Walburga."

It had been nearly a month now since she had seen the woman and Narcissa felt that all too familiar knot of uneasiness in her stomach.

The older woman's stance was seemingly benign but Narcissa knew better. The glint in her cold silvery eyes and the way her mouth curved into a smirk contrasted her relaxed posture.

"I noticed the light coming from the library. I'm pleased to see that you're back. Everyone was rather worried when you left."

Narcissa smiled, the same one that she flashed while she posed for reporters and the same one she'd always given to her family.

Polite, confident and convincing to everyone but herself.

"Please forgive my atrocious lack of manners." Narcissa tucked the book away—noticing the way Walburga's eyes strayed towards it— and kissed the older woman on the cheek.

"When did you return, Narcissa? What were you doing in here?"

"I only just got back an hour ago. My mind was still at unrest so I thought a bit of light reading would set it at ease. It works most of the time." She waved a careless hand in the direction of the bookshelf.

"I see."

Walburga laid a hand on her niece's arm. "How are you now? Before you left, you were rather... distraught. Are you better now?"

While the question was laced with nothing but concern, Narcissa recognised the undertone all too well. If she was back to normal, then it was only a matter of time before they would start coercing her into joining the Dark Lord.

Effecting a heavy sigh of disappointment, Narcissa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I am not yet at full strength. My core still hasn't completely recovered from the loss. I apologise if my predicament causes you trouble."

Walburga's smile slipped ever so slightly before it was back again. "Don't be silly, my dear. Take all the time you need. Whilst you are currently...indisposed and unable to wholly pledge your loyalty to his Lordship, I'm certain there are _many_ more ways in which you may prove useful. "

Narcissa suppressed a shudder at the way her voice curled into a menacing timbre towards the end.

"You will aid us, won't you?"

It wasn't a request. But, Narcissa wasn't a model Slytherin for nothing.

She straightened her shoulders, lifted her chin and nodded confidently at the other woman. "Of course. You have my word, Aunt Walburga. You nee—"

She was cut off by a terrible scream coming from outside the library.

Narcissa tensed immediately and gripped her wand tightly.

"Don't bother yourself, Narcissa. That's just your sister. She's merely throwing a fit."

Bellatrix was home too? Did that mean the entire family was here?

"Why don't you go and greet her? I'm sure your return will sooth her temper."

"Why is she upset?" Narcissa was aware that Bella's tantrums were frequent and bloody. What could have gotten her mad now?

"The Dark Lord was displeased with her today. I'm afraid that's all I can say. Come now."

Narcissa followed her aunt outside after swallowing her anxiety.

There was a man on the carpet, writhing in pain. Judging by his attire, he was muggle. His mouth was open like he was screaming except that no sound came out of it.

Over the man's body, stood none other than Narcissa's big sister: Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Cissy's back!" Bella put her wand down and approached her. She walked with a slight limp.

Narcissa allowed herself to be pulled into a rather smothering embrace. She could smell the blood on her sister's person and barely refrained from recoiling.

That wasn't new.

As always, she patted her sister twice on the back and pulled away. "It's good to see you, Bella."

A lie.

There was no one else in the room other than Walburga, Bella, the writhing Muggle and the Rabastan brothers.

Rudophous' eyes barely flicked towards her, he was slouching on the sofa with a disgruntled expression and twirling his wand. There was a dark bruise on the right side of his face.

Rabastan shamelessly stared at her, smiling crookedly as he revealed yellow teeth. His sick gaze lingered on her breasts far longer than necessary.

Narcissa withheld a shudder of revulsion as well as the urge to hex him senseless. She was used to such glances in her direction and while there were times when she had no qualms about using it to her advantage, both Lestrange brothers utterly disgusted her.

"May I ask what's upset you, Bella?"

"Don't mind her, dear," Walburga spoke before Bellatrix could. "Little Bella is throwing a tantrum simply because things didn't go as per her convenience today."

"The Dark Lord discovered a traitor amongst us. He was livid. Took it out on Rudy and Bella. Bellla's worried that she isn't his favourite pet anymore. He's started to favour someone else off late. I'd say it's not very long before she's replaced b—"

"That's enough, Rabastan," Walburga cut in sharply. "Why don't you head to one of the guest bedrooms and retire for the night?"

The warning in her voice was clear and the words weren't a request.

Narcissa wondered if they weren't telling her something. Who was the traitor? And who was You-Know-Who's new favourite?

Probably Crouch.

"Where's Uncle Orion?" Narcissa noticed the absence with a little relief. Orion Black was a formidable man and she wasn't above admitting that she was afraid of him.

"Why don't you also get some rest, Narcissa? You appear tired and rather pale. Let's leave Bella alone with her toy, shall we?"

"Of course." Narcissa knew better than to press for an answer. She was aware that her family didn't trust her fully when the Dark side was concerned. She wasn't a Death Eater.

The poor man on the floor hadn't done anything to deserve such cruelty but she couldn't help him.

Bellatrix smirked and made her way back to her victim, wand raised and an insane glint in her eyes.

Narcissa curled her hands into fists and turned away when the man howled in pain.

She tried to block out his screams and tried to think of a way to get the book to Andromeda.

The gut wrenching screams shouldn't have affected her so much. She'd been accustomed to them ever since she was a child.

Redemption was difficult, not impossible. And she planned on getting there.

* * *

James took the next stack of files from the box and sat down to arrange them.

He sneaked a glance at Mcgonagall who was reading a parchment.

"Is there anything you wish to ask, Mr Potter?" She spoke without looking up.

"I actually have a question. Completely hypothetical."

That made her look up. She lowered her glasses and looked at him suspiciously. "Very well."

James kept his expression completely neutral while he spoke. "Suppose there is a certain wizard who wishes to become an Auror, but for some unfortunate reason, they are unable to write their NEWTs, can they still be eligible for the post?"

"Mr Potter, if you are about to do something incorrigibly stupid, I suggest that y—"

"What? No! I'm not going to _incorrigibly stupid_ , Minnie! Lily _and_ Remus have been making me study hard. You really think I'd _want_ to skip my NEWTs? It's just a hypothetical question."

She regarded him steadily for a few moments. "As you know, an adequate number of NEWTs are required in order to be eligible for Auror training. If for whatsoever reason, a candidate is unable to write his exams, according to standard procedure, that particular student must write the NEWTs in the next academic year."

James schooled his expression so as to not betray how he felt. This was bad.

Sirius couldn't afford to lose a year waiting for the NEWTs and he needed to get into the Auror Department if he planned on finding Regulus and taking down his family.

"But in light of recent events," she continued, no doubt referring to the growing number of missing people and Death Eater attacks, "the Head of the Auror Department spoke with the Board of Directors of Hogwarts and decided to override that particular clause for an indefinite term. The Department requires more Aurors. They cannot afford to lose any trainees."

 _Indefinite_ obviously meant the time it would take for the war to end.

"So what's the alternative?"

"They— Potter, I swear to Merlin if you are about to do something reckless, I will personally drag you back by the ear and—"

"Professor, I promise I'm not going to do anything stupid! You have to trust me. I'm just curious."

"Mr Potter, I've known you long enough to say that you are never just curious about anything."

There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and Peter Pettigrew walked in.

James wasn't quite sure why he felt uneasy on seeing one of his closest friends. It had been hard to not let slip about Sirius while around him.

He, Remus and Lily took care not to even mention Sirius' name around him. It was the easiest way to ensure that they didn't give anything away.

"My essay, Professor," said Peter, placing his homework on the desk. He raised his eyebrows at James in greeting and he responded with a lazy wave.

"Very well Mr Pettigrew. Do not be tardy in your work again. You may go."

That was another thing. Peter had been seriously behind with his essays and his grades had fallen. Remus had tried to help him out but it hadn't worked.

He was also sneaking off and missing classes these last couple of months. James assumed it was probably to meet a girl or something.

Once Peter was out, James focused on Mcgonagall again. "Just trust me on this, Minnie. That's all I'm asking."

The woman regarded him the way she often did when she thought he was behind a prank (which he was).

She sighed and James recognised it as a sign of resignation.

"Those who aren't able to write their NEWTs must pass a theoretical as well as practical examination conducted by the head trainer, Alastor Moody. Of course, you need a valid reason to be eligible for this test," she added with a warning look at James.

"If they pass the exam, they get to join the other trainees."

James tucked this piece of information away. He'd have to sneak out later to get this to Sirius.

"The exam is quite thorough and exhausting, not to mention Mr Moody can be quite... temperamental. A meeting with him may wear you down," Mcgonagall added as though to discourage him from doing something stupid.

As if he'd try.

* * *

The room was dark, cave-like with rough stone walls and floor. It was free of any furniture save for a chair with a high backrest which oddly resembled a throne. An archaic chandelier hung from the ceiling in the centre.

A robed figure sat on the chair while another man stood before him, few paces from the throne.

"You're taking far too long to deliver on your promise, Orion," the man on the throne rasped. Under his hood, his red eyes were no more than narrowed slits. He lazily twirled his white wand between equally white fingers but the impatience in his posture was clear.

Orion Black tensed at his master's words. "Forgive me my Lord. It will take a few more days before he is ready. Crouch ensured that the potion was delivered. The muggle is administering the dosage regularly as he was instructed."

"Patience is not a trait I possess. Only yesterday, we discovered a traitor in our midst. This wasn't something I would have expected from Rosier. His disloyalty has made me realise that I cannot trust even my inner circle. I cannot afford anymore such incidents. I need someone who is fully under my command. Double the dosage of the potion if you must but I want my weapon ready. You have three days. Do what you need to."

Orion nodded grimly. "Very well, my Lord. I will personally see it done. My son will be yours to command in three days. You have my word."

Orion decided to go immediately after this meeting and do the needful. The muggle had been paid a handsome fee to steadily inject the potion into Sirius' bloodstream.

He only had to increase the dosage and as promised, his elder son's mind would belong to the Dark Lord. Once Sirius was in his master's clutches, his family would once again fully regain their lost favor.

"Very well. Leave."

Orion bowed low and left his Lordship's presence feeling more triumphant than he had in a long time.

At least his older son wouldn't be a problem anymore. Once his younger son saw that his beloved big brother had pledged himself to Lord Voldemort, he would also selflessly devote himself to it.

He turned on heel and apparated to the Muggle hospital where Sirius was being held.

Pure shock was what tore through him the moment he arrived in the dark corridor.

Shock which was rapidly turning to rage.

There weren't any guards and the corridor itself was thrashed and the doors had been blown off the hinges. The wards around the place had been destroyed as well.

He charged through the corridor and into the room where his oldest was _supposed_ to be sedated.

Empty.

The bed was fucking empty!

How the fuck had Sirius escaped?

The anger was giving way to something else: fear.

Sirius was missing, there was absolutely no sign of him and the Dark Lord wanted him ready in three days. Less than seventy two hours.

The triumph he had felt only moments ago was now replaced by rage and fear.

He let out an animalistic growl, his fury growing by the second.

When had all this happened?

He wanted to bang his head, vent his frustration on some poor soul, anything to quell his own distress.

He had been so close to achieving what he wanted.

So fucking close.

He was ruined now. There was no way the Dark Lord would be merciful enough to overlook this mishap. His family was doomed.

If Sirius was awake and about, it was only a matter of time before his son came for him. That much was certain. He had to find him as soon as possible. It was the only way to get out of this alive. He could beg his master for more time once he'd got his hands on Sirius but he just _had_ to find his son. He was a Black for fuck's sake.

Blacks do not back down.

Blacks do not give up.

He had a lot of work to do. Most importantly, he had to get to Sirius _before_ his son found him. He would alert Bella, his wife and the others.

Even as his mind ran at a million miles, a singular thought was on the forefront of his brain. A saying he'd heard a long time ago:

 _Demons run when a good man goes to war._

* * *

 ***Boom boom boom** *** Orion's in trouble now.**

 **And that's chapter seven for you, sweethearts. I apologise for the long wait and I hope this chapter was worth it.** **Next chapter, more of the plot will unfold. I'd say it's about damn time Sirius took control. Review and let me know how you felt about the chapter.**


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